NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Somerset, PA, United States, 2007/02/15 - Written for day traders, active traders and investors. A review of the market activity for the day, economic data plus, world news.

Replace these Affiliate Programs at ANYTIME! Your banner here within the next hour. Learn How!

As we move toward the end of the week ahead of the extended holiday weekend and amidst the heavy snow that has hit the North East, trading volume was moderate today with very tight trading ranges. At the end of the trading day, here is how the major indices ended the session: the DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) moved higher today by 23.15 points to end the session at 12765.01; the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) moved higher by 7.65 points to end at 9434.96; the NASDAQ moved higher by 8.72 points to close at 2497.10; the S&P 500 moved higher by 1.51 points to end at 1456.81 and the RUSSELL 2000 moved higher by 1.44 points to close at 815.43. The FTSE All-World Index ex-US (top Large/Mid Cap aggregate from over 2,700 stocks from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) which covers 90% of the worlds investable market capitalization) moved higher by 0.04 to close at 247.47 and no data available for the FTSE RAFI 1000.

Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke: avoids backing Legislative changes to SOX; can't assume equities will pay same return as past; demand for U.S. assets remains strong; eventually need Federal predatory lending rules; Fed would need to hike if inflation accelerates; high oil prices have some long-term benefits; low taxes helpful if balanced with spending; many reasons to move to more flexible Yuan; policy will respond to new information; possible economy is 'stronger than we think'; unlikely to be major Dollar asset sales; U.S. needs to gradually reduce current account gap and would like to see GSE reform Legislation.

Economic data released for the day:

Empire State Manufacturing Survey Index: A survey conducted by the New York Fed of manufacturers in the state of New York. The participants are from a variety of industries across the state and give their view of the likely direction of certain indicators, throughout the upcoming next six months. New York Fed February Prices Received came in at 12.90 versus 19.15 in January; February Employment came in at 12.70 versus 6.91 in January; February New Orders came in at 18.93 versus 10.26 in January and February Manufacturing Index came in at 24.35 versus 9.13 in January.

Import and Export Prices: Goods bought in the United States but produced abroad plus goods sold abroad but produced domestically are compiled in an index which indicates inflationary trends in internationally traded products. U.S. January Petroleum Import Prices fell by 7.3%; U.S. January Non-Petroleum Import Prices were unchanged and U.S. January Import Prices fell by 1.2% compared to consensus of a drop by 1.5%.

Jobless Claims: A weekly compilation of new unemployment claims to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The condition of the labor market is determined by an increase of the number of claims which suggests a deteriorating labor market. U.S. Jobless Claims for week of February 3rd were revised to 313k from 311K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of February 3rd rose by 71K to 2,560,000 and U.S. Jobless Claims for week of February 10th rose by 44K to 357K compared to survey of an increase by 4K.

Industrial Production: The physical output of the nation’s factories, utilities and mines. The Industrial sector accounts for less than one fifth of the economy with a mostly cyclical variation. The usage of available resources amount utilities, mines and factories is the capacity utilization rate. A warning sign of inflationary pressure is detected by an increase operating rate. U.S. December Industrial Production was revised to an increase by 0.5% from an increase of 0.4%; U.S. January Capacity Utilization fell by 0.6% to 81.2% versus consensus of 81.6% and U.S. January Industrial Production fell by 0.5%.

Treasury International Capital: The flow of financial instruments into and out of the United States is tracked by this Treasury data. Tracking is included for: Treasury Securities, agency securities, corporate bonds and corporate equities. Net Foreign buys of US. Treasury Notes, Bonds $10.6 billion in December; Net Foreign Buys Of U.S. Agency Debt came in at $28.0 billion in December; Net Foreign Buys Of U.S. Corp Bonds $36.0 billion in December and Net Foreign Sales Of U.S. Equities $11.6 billion in December.

EIA Natural Gas Report: Weekly information provided by the EIA (Energy Information Administration) on natural gas stock piles in underground storage in the United States and three regions of the country. Prices for natural gas products are determined by the level of inventories. For week of February 10th weekly change fell by 259 Bcf.

Philadelphia Fed Survey: Philadelphia Federal Reserve district releases general conditions index from the business outlook survey which is a diffusion index of manufacturing conditions in the district. February New Orders fell by 0.5 versus January reading of 1.3; February Employment fell by 0.4 versus January reading of 7.9; February Price Received came in at 9.4 versus January reading of 11.6; February Price Paid came in at 15.8 versus January reading of 11.9; February Business Index Expected 5.0; February Business Index came in at 0.6 versus January reading of 8.3; February Business Index Expected 5.0 and February Business Index came in at 0.6 versus January reading of 8.3.

Housing Market Index: Survey created by the National Association of Home Builders for a rating on the general economy and housing market conditions. For February, the Housing Market Index came in at 40.

On the commodities markets, the trend was mostly lower across the board today for the Energy sector: Light crude moved lower by $0.01 to close at $57.99 a barrel; Heating Oil closed lower today by $0.01 to end at $1.62 a gallon; Natural Gas moved higher by $0.03 to end the day at $7.34 per million BTU and Unleaded Gas closed lower by $0.02 today to end the session at $1.69 a gallon.

Metals Market ended the session mostly lower across the board today: Gold moved lower by $0.60 to close at $671.40 an ounce; Silver closed with no change at $13.96 an ounce; Platinum moved lower today by $0.20 to close at $1,216.90 an ounce and Copper ended the day higher by $0.09 to close at $2.68 per pound.

On the Livestock and Meat Markets, the trend was mixed across the board again today: Lean Hogs closed lower by 0.18 to close at 68.70; Pork Bellies ended the day lower by 2.35 to close at 104.70; Live Cattle closed higher by 0.13 to end the day at 96.40 and Feeder Cattle ended the day lower by 0.35 to close at 100.45.

Other Commodities: Corn moved lower today by 0.75 points to end at 420.00 and Soybeans moved higher by 8.25 to close at 774.75.

The end of day results for the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) which is comprised of the total Exchange Volume for Futures and Options (EVFO) including Electronic, Open Auction and Cash Exchange ended the day at 4,263,868. Open Interest for Futures moved lower by 30,121 to close at 9,349,769 and the Open Interest for Options moved higher by 85,724 to close at 8,264,564 for a total Open Interest of 17,615,627 for a total gain on the day by 55,603.

Bonds were higher across the board again today: 2 year bond closed higher by 2/32 at 100 2/32; 5 year bond closed higher by 5/32 at 100 8/32; 10 year bond closed higher by 7/32 at 99 10/32 and the 30 year bond closed higher by 13/32 at 99 2/32.

The mini Dow ended the session with another again today of 24 to close at 12789. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 96,098 which are comprised of Electronic, Open Auction and Cash Exchange. Traders should review workshops available at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) Educational in-person seminars schedules available on CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) website.

Newswire Today - PRZOOM / PRTODAY disclaims any content contained in this article. If you need/wish to contact the company who published the current release, you will need to contact them - NOT us. Issuers of articles are solely responsible for the accuracy of their content. Our complete disclaimer appears here.IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Issuance, publication or distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions could be subject to restrictions. The recipient of this press release is responsible for using this press release and the information herein in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations in the particular jurisdiction. This press release does not constitute an offer or an offering to acquire or subscribe for any Millennium-Traders securities in any jurisdiction including any other companies listed or named in this release.